Freezer to Crockpot Meals

charla · 09-06-2018, 09:01 PM

What are your favorite freezer meals that can be cooked in the crockpot? I need some yummy ideas for ballet lesson nights, so full meals would be really helpful. I have three crockpots so I can even make three separate things at one time (main dish and sides)! We are gluten free and egg free.

bananacake · 09-07-2018, 01:33 PM

I am the queen of GF freezer meals! Self-proclaimed, of course

Coconut Chickpea Curry
Italian Beef
Plantain beef stew
Pork Carnitas
Red Lentil Soup with Lemon
Shredded Mexican Beef
Southwestern Pulled Chicken with Slaw
Spicy shredded pork
Taco soup
Thai Basil Chicken

Tomatillo beef
Vegetarian Chili
White bean chili

Many of these require rice or GF noodles with them or throw it in tacos. The soups and chili stand alone.

---------- Post added at 03:33 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:30 PM ----------

I should have said many of these do not appear to be crockpot/freezer meals, but they all can be. Dump and go, truly. Those with beans, I pre-soak and then freeze. No need to pre-soak lentils.

charla · 09-07-2018, 08:51 PM

Love the recipes! I have a ton of questions. I hope you don't mind, dear queen of GF freezer meals.

So how do you freeze the larger cuts of meat? Do you season the meat and then add the rest of the ingredients to the bag and then freeze? Do you cook any of it before putting it in to the freezer bags? Do you take it out of the freezer the day before to thaw in the fridge?

bananacake · 09-08-2018, 06:09 PM

No cooking ahead. I generally don't remember to pre-thaw, but that's a good skill to have

You don't have to "season the meat" per se - just throw it all in the bag and freeze! For SW chicken and Thai Basil, I freeze as whole breasts (or actually I think both recipes originally call for thighs, but breast work fine), and then shred once cooked. I use pork mini roasts usually and not pork butt/shoulder because I prefer it leaner. I freeze them and beef roasts whole.

The way I do the recipes, I use 2 lbs of meat. So I cut spices/chopped stuff accordingly.

tempus vernum · 09-09-2018, 08:00 PM

Ive been focusing more on the crockpot this summer.

My 3 favorites

bbq chicken
(Frozen chicken breasts and bbq sauce), serve w gf toast or rice and a veg . I recently got the idea of adding it to salad for bbq chicken salad

Chx tacos
(Frozen chicken breasts w taco seasoning and salsa (just toss in however much you would like) serve as tacos or on rice

Company chx
(2.5 # Frozen chicken breasts, a stick of butter, 2 packages cream cheese, two
Boxes GF cr of mush soup, Italian seasonings), serve w noodles or rice or quinoa

I’ve done them with or without freezing .

knitlove · 09-10-2018, 09:37 AM

I need to come back and look at bananacake's links

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

RiverRock · 09-10-2018, 10:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by knitlove

I need to come back and look at bananacake's links

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

I've only looked at half of them, but they look good!

tempus vernum · 09-10-2018, 10:37 AM

Now that I'm not at work -- Here are ones on the top my list to try (let me know if you try them

)

Sesame chicken https://showmetheyummy.com/crockpot-...hicken-recipe/
Beef Stroganoff https://www.recipegirl.com/lightened...ef-stroganoff/
Hearty Western Casserole https://www.sidetrackedsarah.com/hea...-freezer-meal/
Slow Cooker Asian Beef https://momtomomnutrition.com/food-a...ker-asian-beef

gabriola · 09-10-2018, 01:26 PM

I just made a pulled pork recipe that I am sure could be prepped, thrown in a bag and frozen to be made later in the crockpot. I use trimmed pork tenderloin, season with garlic, pepper and whatever other dry seasonings are appealing, a few glugs or Worcestershire sauce, and not quite a full bottle of BBQ sauce (maybe 300 mls or so), lots of onion cut up....at least one large onion for 2 pork tenderloins. I think it would freeze well in a large bag but I usually just throw it all directly into a crockpot as it takes only 5 minutes to do. I just eyeball the amounts.

This can be served on buns with cheese and coleslaw OR others that I know (that are avoiding breads) prefer it served over mashed potatoes. Both are equally delicious.

I made this a couple of days after my surgery last week(it is that easy) and doubled the amount to give to a friend who had cancer surgery the day after me. It served my family for 2 nights and also hers for at least 2 meals....AND it was relatively inexpensive.

charla · 09-11-2018, 09:55 AM

I'm trying the chicken tacos tonight. That was really easy to throw into the slow cooker.

SonshineMama, several of those recipe links mention having to do something the last 30 minutes of the cook time. Do you do it that way? Or do you think I can just dump it all at the beginning? I don't have time to wait 30 minutes since we are getting home at 7 pm and everyone is already so hungry.

tempus vernum · 09-11-2018, 10:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by charla

I'm trying the chicken tacos tonight. That was really easy to throw into the slow cooker.

SonshineMama, several of those recipe links mention having to do something the last 30 minutes of the cook time. Do you do it that way? Or do you think I can just dump it all at the beginning? I don't have time to wait 30 minutes since we are getting home at 7 pm and everyone is already so hungry.

Usually I have *someone* home to do it cuz we have 5 different schedules and the house is rarely empty but if I did not I’d toss it in before I left but after it had cooked a few hours. I think I’d also throw a bit extra water in to keep it from getting too thick.. . But I think my crockpot cooks fast

tempus vernum · 09-12-2018, 08:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by charla

I'm trying the chicken tacos tonight. That was really easy to throw into the slow cooker.

SonshineMama, several of those recipe links mention having to do something the last 30 minutes of the cook time. Do you do it that way? Or do you think I can just dump it all at the beginning? I don't have time to wait 30 minutes since we are getting home at 7 pm and everyone is already so hungry.

How did it go? My family adores the chicken tacos and we have very picky people. We have tried tons and tons of crockpot meals and few get repeated

charla · 09-12-2018, 09:55 AM

It was so easy and so good. We are eating leftovers for lunch today.

We don't repeat very many crockpot meals either. They either don't have enough flavor or the texture is off.

ViolaMum · 09-12-2018, 12:44 PM

I use my crock pot at least once a week. I stink at making freezer meals, but I've found keeping components on hand that can just be tossed into the crock pot works for me - things like frozen peppers and onions, ro-tel tomatoes, Thai curry paste, and canned coconut milk plus an abundance of herbs and spices in the pantry. I like cream cheese for creamy sauces over canned cream of . . . soups.

This morning I tossed a roast in the crock pot with a can of ro-tel tomatoes, a bag of pepper and onion stir-fry blend, some chili powder, and a mix of other tex-mex spices. The last time I did that, it was devoured, but we'll see.

ETA: I also soak beans in large batches (when I remember!) and keep them in the freezer. They can then just be tossed into the crock pot frozen for chili and similar dishes.

bananacake · 09-12-2018, 12:48 PM

GF ravioli was on sale today. My kids are newly on dairy (a few months now) and have never had ravioli, so I'm making Italian beef to go with it

09-06-2018, 09:01 PM	#1
charla Administrator Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Oklahoma Posts: 16,752	Freezer to Crockpot Meals What are your favorite freezer meals that can be cooked in the crockpot? I need some yummy ideas for ballet lesson nights, so full meals would be really helpful. I have three crockpots so I can even make three separate things at one time (main dish and sides)! We are gluten free and egg free. __________________ CHARLA Married to Nick, 32 yrs Mom to Nathan and his wife Abby, and Hope Elizabeth, dancing for eternity with babies: Micah Noel, Grace Anna, Andrew David www.dancingforeternity.org www.irresistiblehope.org Save Save Save Save Save

09-07-2018, 01:33 PM	#2
bananacake Rose Garden I Am A BananaCake Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Northeast US Posts: 25,158	Re: Freezer to Crockpot Meals I am the queen of GF freezer meals! Self-proclaimed, of course Coconut Chickpea Curry Italian Beef Plantain beef stew Pork Carnitas Red Lentil Soup with Lemon Shredded Mexican Beef Southwestern Pulled Chicken with Slaw Spicy shredded pork Taco soup Thai Basil Chicken Tomatillo beef Vegetarian Chili White bean chili Many of these require rice or GF noodles with them or throw it in tacos. The soups and chili stand alone. ---------- Post added at 03:33 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:30 PM ---------- I should have said many of these do not appear to be crockpot/freezer meals, but they all can be. Dump and go, truly. Those with beans, I pre-soak and then freeze. No need to pre-soak lentils. __________________ Brenna 3 kiddos (17, 14 1/2 & 9 1/2) Praying for semi-son, age 36 I live by the motto: seek first to understand. "Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions." Proverbs 18:2

09-07-2018, 08:51 PM	#3
charla Administrator Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Oklahoma Posts: 16,752	Re: Freezer to Crockpot Meals Love the recipes! I have a ton of questions. I hope you don't mind, dear queen of GF freezer meals. So how do you freeze the larger cuts of meat? Do you season the meat and then add the rest of the ingredients to the bag and then freeze? Do you cook any of it before putting it in to the freezer bags? Do you take it out of the freezer the day before to thaw in the fridge? __________________ CHARLA Married to Nick, 32 yrs Mom to Nathan and his wife Abby, and Hope Elizabeth, dancing for eternity with babies: Micah Noel, Grace Anna, Andrew David www.dancingforeternity.org www.irresistiblehope.org Save Save Save Save Save

09-08-2018, 06:09 PM	#4
bananacake Rose Garden I Am A BananaCake Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Northeast US Posts: 25,158	Re: Freezer to Crockpot Meals No cooking ahead. I generally don't remember to pre-thaw, but that's a good skill to have You don't have to "season the meat" per se - just throw it all in the bag and freeze! For SW chicken and Thai Basil, I freeze as whole breasts (or actually I think both recipes originally call for thighs, but breast work fine), and then shred once cooked. I use pork mini roasts usually and not pork butt/shoulder because I prefer it leaner. I freeze them and beef roasts whole. The way I do the recipes, I use 2 lbs of meat. So I cut spices/chopped stuff accordingly. __________________ Brenna 3 kiddos (17, 14 1/2 & 9 1/2) Praying for semi-son, age 36 I live by the motto: seek first to understand. "Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions." Proverbs 18:2

09-09-2018, 08:00 PM	#5
tempus vernum Rose Garden I am the mountain. I am not the storm and the storm is not me. -Ian Cron Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 28,915	Re: Freezer to Crockpot Meals Ive been focusing more on the crockpot this summer. My 3 favorites bbq chicken (Frozen chicken breasts and bbq sauce), serve w gf toast or rice and a veg . I recently got the idea of adding it to salad for bbq chicken salad Chx tacos (Frozen chicken breasts w taco seasoning and salsa (just toss in however much you would like) serve as tacos or on rice Company chx (2.5 # Frozen chicken breasts, a stick of butter, 2 packages cream cheese, two Boxes GF cr of mush soup, Italian seasonings), serve w noodles or rice or quinoa I’ve done them with or without freezing . __________________ ~Spring always comes after winter~ 2 Corinthians 4:16 “ Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. ” Last edited by tempus vernum; 09-09-2018 at 08:03 PM.

09-10-2018, 09:37 AM	#6
knitlove Rose Garden Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Seattle area Posts: 21,260	Re: Freezer to Crockpot Meals I need to come back and look at bananacake's links Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk __________________ Wife to a wonderful DH for 19 years. Momma to my 29 weeker Early Bird who is thirteen and my little Wiggle Worm born 33 weeks who is nine. How do I have a teenager?! I don't feel ready for this.

09-10-2018, 10:37 AM	#8
tempus vernum Rose Garden I am the mountain. I am not the storm and the storm is not me. -Ian Cron Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 28,915	Re: Freezer to Crockpot Meals Now that I'm not at work -- Here are ones on the top my list to try (let me know if you try them ) Sesame chicken https://showmetheyummy.com/crockpot-...hicken-recipe/ Beef Stroganoff https://www.recipegirl.com/lightened...ef-stroganoff/ Hearty Western Casserole https://www.sidetrackedsarah.com/hea...-freezer-meal/ Slow Cooker Asian Beef https://momtomomnutrition.com/food-a...ker-asian-beef __________________ ~Spring always comes after winter~ 2 Corinthians 4:16 “ Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. ”

09-10-2018, 01:26 PM	#9
gabriola Rose Bouquet Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 732	Re: Freezer to Crockpot Meals I just made a pulled pork recipe that I am sure could be prepped, thrown in a bag and frozen to be made later in the crockpot. I use trimmed pork tenderloin, season with garlic, pepper and whatever other dry seasonings are appealing, a few glugs or Worcestershire sauce, and not quite a full bottle of BBQ sauce (maybe 300 mls or so), lots of onion cut up....at least one large onion for 2 pork tenderloins. I think it would freeze well in a large bag but I usually just throw it all directly into a crockpot as it takes only 5 minutes to do. I just eyeball the amounts. This can be served on buns with cheese and coleslaw OR others that I know (that are avoiding breads) prefer it served over mashed potatoes. Both are equally delicious. I made this a couple of days after my surgery last week(it is that easy) and doubled the amount to give to a friend who had cancer surgery the day after me. It served my family for 2 nights and also hers for at least 2 meals....AND it was relatively inexpensive.

09-11-2018, 09:55 AM	#10
charla Administrator Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Oklahoma Posts: 16,752	Re: Freezer to Crockpot Meals I'm trying the chicken tacos tonight. That was really easy to throw into the slow cooker. SonshineMama, several of those recipe links mention having to do something the last 30 minutes of the cook time. Do you do it that way? Or do you think I can just dump it all at the beginning? I don't have time to wait 30 minutes since we are getting home at 7 pm and everyone is already so hungry. __________________ CHARLA Married to Nick, 32 yrs Mom to Nathan and his wife Abby, and Hope Elizabeth, dancing for eternity with babies: Micah Noel, Grace Anna, Andrew David www.dancingforeternity.org www.irresistiblehope.org Save Save Save Save Save

09-12-2018, 09:55 AM	#13
charla Administrator Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Oklahoma Posts: 16,752	Re: Freezer to Crockpot Meals It was so easy and so good. We are eating leftovers for lunch today. We don't repeat very many crockpot meals either. They either don't have enough flavor or the texture is off. __________________ CHARLA Married to Nick, 32 yrs Mom to Nathan and his wife Abby, and Hope Elizabeth, dancing for eternity with babies: Micah Noel, Grace Anna, Andrew David www.dancingforeternity.org www.irresistiblehope.org Save Save Save Save Save

09-12-2018, 12:44 PM	#14
ViolaMum Rose Garden Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 5,542	Re: Freezer to Crockpot Meals I use my crock pot at least once a week. I stink at making freezer meals, but I've found keeping components on hand that can just be tossed into the crock pot works for me - things like frozen peppers and onions, ro-tel tomatoes, Thai curry paste, and canned coconut milk plus an abundance of herbs and spices in the pantry. I like cream cheese for creamy sauces over canned cream of . . . soups. This morning I tossed a roast in the crock pot with a can of ro-tel tomatoes, a bag of pepper and onion stir-fry blend, some chili powder, and a mix of other tex-mex spices. The last time I did that, it was devoured, but we'll see. ETA: I also soak beans in large batches (when I remember!) and keep them in the freezer. They can then just be tossed into the crock pot frozen for chili and similar dishes. __________________ Darcy married to my Photographic Genius (1/00) Mom to: Prima, Secunda, Tertia, and Quarta Youth and Beauty are fleeting, but the ability to bake a great chocolate cake lasts forever!

09-12-2018, 12:48 PM	#15
bananacake Rose Garden I Am A BananaCake Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Northeast US Posts: 25,158	Re: Freezer to Crockpot Meals GF ravioli was on sale today. My kids are newly on dairy (a few months now) and have never had ravioli, so I'm making Italian beef to go with it __________________ Brenna 3 kiddos (17, 14 1/2 & 9 1/2) Praying for semi-son, age 36 I live by the motto: seek first to understand. "Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions." Proverbs 18:2

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